I worry about the dominance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as a vehicle for dealing with the problems of young people today. Everything good about the Rosie Kay Dance Company’s new version of the story comes from its modern-day viewpoint; its difficulties arise when it tries to fit its observations about gang culture and the difficulties of growing up to a 17th-century narrative template.
At a premiere packed with enthusiastic and absorbed schoolchildren, Kay explained that this interpretation, developed with a team of talented young choreographers, grew out of research about life in Birmingham in the here and now. Annie Mahtani’s brilliantly effective score reflects this mix of past and present, with its mashup of Berlioz (for the big, emotive moments) and a Birmingham soundscape for the street scenes. So does the starkly timeless design by Louis Price and lighting by Mike Gunning, which places the dancers in circles of light.
The movement, inflected by ballet, hip-hop and Indian dance styles, is magical; great, fluid swathes of expressive shape combined with detailed gestures rich in meaning. Fights unfold with the nine dancers – all superb – wheeling round the stage in predatory slo-mo. At the party, gold-sleeved Ty (David Devyne) does a one-armed handstand, while Merc (Deepraj Singh) slopes and stamps, arms wide, embracing life.
Romeo and Juliet – Subhash Viman Gorania and Mayowa Ogunnaike – pledge their love in a duet of mirrored, supportive movements, finally uniting in an entwined embrace where each seems part of the other. Their relationship is conveyed with tender detail, but its tragic climax gets bogged down with too much plot that doesn’t quite make sense transposed to a new setting. The production glistens with a potential that is held back by its fidelity to Shakespeare. Its more radical instincts need unleashing.
Romeo + Juliet returns to the Birmingham Hippodrome from 14-16 October as part of Carlos Curates: R&J Reimagined
